In Memoriam: PETA Proposes Tribute to Mother Cows Killed in Transport

To most of us, an accident claiming the lives of nearly two dozen expectant mothers constitutes a tragedy. But to the dairy industry, these losses are just part of the “cost of doing business.” That shouldn’t be the case—so following the deaths of 23 pregnant cows after the truck in which they were being transported overturned near the Port of Wilmington in Delaware, PETA is asking for a memorial brick to be placed in a garden commemorating the state’s crash victims. The brick will commemorate the mother cows and their unborn calves as well as remind people that the best way to try to prevent crashes like this is to go vegan so that cows don’t have to make the trip to the dairy farm in the first place.

Hell on Wheels

The animals who were fatally injured or euthanized were among 42 cows traveling in the trailer that crashed on an interstate off-ramp—the driver was cited for inattentive driving. Showing once again that dairy industry folks have accountants’ ledgers where their hearts should be, they wasted no time mourning their loss: The cows’ remains were taken directly to a slaughterhouse to be processed into “animal byproducts.”

Of course, if they had hearts, they’d have to spend all their time mourning—no cow bred by the dairy industry escapes a premature and unnatural death. On dairy factory farms, cows are treated like mechanical equipment. Repeatedly impregnated to keep their milk production going, cows have their babies torn away from them shortly after birth—the females to follow them into servitude and the males often deprived of light, movement, and nutrition to produce the white flesh desired for veal.

Eventually, they will all be crammed into trucks to be transported through all kinds of weather—and typically without food or water—to the slaughterhouse. Even when accidents don’t occur en route—although they do happen frequently—many cows die during transport. The survivors are shot in the head with a captive-bolt gun, are hung up by one leg, and have their throats cut before being skinned and gutted, sometimes while still conscious.

What You Can Do

Show that you care about cows by choosing delicious vegan milks and cheese and by not eating or wearing them.